Quadzilla adrenaline for mpg's is it worth it?

[Doubletrouble]

 I'm asking this in light of the recent fuel price spikes. I don't mind paying extra for fuel because I didn't buy a 3500 dually for milage but, out of curiosity if a person were looking for mainly mpg gains would the quad investment be worth it? Last I looked they are fetching about $700 new. That would be a large investment for some people (me included at the moment). Thoughts? Thanks!

[Dieselfuture]

If you're buying for mpg only if say no it's not worth it. There are other things you can do for mpg like driving slower reduce drag etc. I mean if you spend 700 and gain 1-2 mpg because of better timing, how long will it take to get money back, the more expensive the fuel the quicker the return I suppose. What I'm trying to say is if you drive it like you stole it then quad will make it worse because you'll be loving extra power and using it, if you already done everything to gain mpg then quad may give you another 1-2 mpg because of timing in right places. Long term yes it does worth it and not just for mpg, but if you drive less then 10k a year idk... @Mopar1973Man got best mpg with edge, I believe 27 ? and driving at 55-60 I got pretty close to that last summer few times if I drive 60 I just have 0 patience going that slow. 

Sorry I'm starting to mumble again, what I'm trying to say is, does quad worth it? YES would I get it just for mpg, probably not. 

 

[dripley]

I was able to get 19.5 out of my 2500 running 75 on pure interstate runs regularly with the comp and rv275's.  I always thought that was pretty respectable running at near 7500 pounds. But since replacing the VP and not tapping the pump I am at 18.5. Going to tap the pump soon and see if the other 1 mpg comes back. I would like to have a quad but not purely for mileage. Of course any additional mpg with a  mod is always welcome.

[wil440]

I should really care about MPG as our fuel is now £1.25 to £1.39 a litre but in realitity I don't bother, I get much better MPG that you guys anyway as our gallon is 52 ounces bigger thing is our prices aren't 52 ounces higher 

My truck is stock as far as I know... auto too, I use a tune  for towing most of the time towing or not and the truck is much better to drive, I've been using level 3 but recently went up to 4 and then 5  (kept it at 3 because of the trans)  

The difference in how the truck runs and drives is the main thing for me it is SO much better, I'm sure mpg is better but I haven't checked and probably never will, loaded and at work with my trailer on I'm around 10 to 12k pounds so diesel cost is what it is

I'd say if the truck either was manual or had a built auto it would be perfect but manual 4x4's here are rocking horse ~~~~ and 10k + for a trans is silly

[Doubletrouble]

 I haven't really thought alot about a quad myself as I find them to be somewhat technical and I am not. 

 My 3500 dually is a 5 spd manual and on summer fuel I average around 17-17.5 just going to and from work. Not bad for such a heavy truck with DRW in my book. I was getting that with my last half ton.

 In the future I plan on an injector upgrade, at least RV275's maybe +75hp. Not sure yet. I don't want to smoke like a freight train and be forced to get a tuner for that reason. I'll be honest, tuners are expensive and I have several other things I'd rather spend the money on for the truck.

 I have looked at the quad XZT tuner, it's a bit more affordable. I haven't heard alot from anyone that has used one though other than online reviews. It to has a setting for fuel economy, power and an off position. You can also get a high idle program in it as well.

[Mopar1973Man]

Only thing different is Quadzilla allows for all timing control. Fuel side is easy how many % over or under stock fuel. 

 

Timing is the tough one because injector size, cetane levels, pop pressure, even tire sizes and final ratio affect how timing is figured out. Best I can say is the lowest engine load is optimal timing. Even with bitter cold and winterized fuel 18 to 19 MPG has been my average. As fuel prices go up I'll start to slow down. MPG start to rise. Last tank I was towing home an 1995 Ford F350.

[01cummins4ever]

I did the RV 275’s, and quad xzt at the same time a few years ago, I seen about a 1.5 mpg that put me around 19.5 to 20 on flat highway, around 18.5 on hilly roads, After the injectors settled It seemed to loose about .5 mpg or so, but still not bad and better than the 17~18 I was getting before, but that was also on summer fuel, Like others say, The adrenaline is good if you want to play the tuning game and get it all dialed in, but not for fuel mileage alone, the xzt works well if you just want to flip a switch 

[Mopar1973Man]

Problem... Stock and RV275 you can do with about any tuner. Now like 150 HP injectors you cannot because the only tuner with adjustable timing is Adrenaline. This is where the smoke bomb stem from. I ran 75 HP injectors with Edge Comp and they where very smokey. Now switch to Quadzilla cleaned right up with good timing control. Most tuners just stack couple degrees timing on top of stock. Still miss the mark. My current tune I'm about 21° @ 2k. Can't find that with most other tuners. There is Smarty Touch for +60HP which cost about $1800 for the fully meal deal. Now Quadzilla is about $700 and 180 HP tuner simpler that Smarty Touch and more power. These  are the only two with full timing control. Not like Smarty S03 mild to wild timing which you can't see or adjust other than stacking plus amount on top of stock. Bigger the injectors require some deep retard to spool the turbo and then step back up after spooling. Hard to do built on top of stock values... Doesn't work good and rarely clean running.

 

Kind of like building a Chevy 350 and going to run stock timing and huge carb don't make any sense?

Edited March 18, 2021 by Mopar1973Man

[Towrigdually]

12 hours ago, Doubletrouble said:

I have looked at the quad XZT tuner, it's a bit more affordable. I haven't heard alot from anyone that has used one though other than online reviews. It to has a setting for fuel economy, power and an off position. You can also get a high idle program in it as well.

Been running the xzt myself, had it with rv275 injectors with the 1000 series tunes. Now have the 90hp injectors with the 2000 series.
 

used the 1000 series with the 90s a bit but it surged some when cruising between 1900-2100 rpm unless it was loaded. Smoke is about the same between 1000 and 2000. 

If I remember right, got about 16-17 mpg with the rv275 cruise set to 70. Right now getting about 15-16 cause I’m doing a lot of city driving, on highway set to 70 I’ve gotten 19. and I get the best mileage by leaving it set to the “65hp” mode.

 

probably could get better mileage, these injectors have about 38k on them. 

[wil440]

13 hours ago, Doubletrouble said:

 I haven't really thought alot about a quad myself as I find them to be somewhat technical and I am not. 

I haven't got the time to mess with mine, found a towing tune on here for stock truck, that's what I drive on all the time, it was easy to download, I also have a DD tune but never use it as I can't be bothered to swap it out ( this takes mere seconds)   but I start my truck and go to work.  Not towing and an empty bed my truck on level 5 or 6 of my towing tune is way too much for most roads in the UK  (we have corners, not blocks) and our roads are narrow so why do I need to do any further tuning and I've got 4 more levels to go, a trans rebuild and more time and I might think different 

Last time I looked cost was $599 ish 

[Doubletrouble]

6 hours ago, Mopar1973Man said:

Problem... Stock and RV275 you can do with about any tuner. Now like 150 HP injectors you cannot because the only tuner with adjustable timing is Adrenaline. This is where the smoke bomb stem from

 So if a person sticks with rv275's the quad XZT should do just fine then? 

 Question: the rv275 injectors are basically a +40hp injector, the XZT claims +60 I think. How does that really work out in the real world. I am not going to assume that the total of the two would be your overall gain which would be +100 ponies.

 Also: if running the above setup would a boost elbow be needed and why or why not? 

 Sorry guys, just had some ideas during some downtime and got me thinking. That gets me in trouble.......alot

[01cummins4ever]

Even 275’s will smoke a little when xzt is set on level 3, nothin major but you can control it with your right foot, you do need a boost elbow, the xzt has the boost fool so it don’t throw a code, you should see about 30 psi. on the boost 

 

I think 300 hp is a good ball park figure if upgrading a stock 235 hp motor 

[LorenS]

This tank of fuel I'm running the Quadzilla in the "super secret" mode where it only adds timing to what the ECM is commanding, and it's based on RPM range (1500, 2000, 2500, etc.) I believe if you set 1500 to 2⁰ and 2000 to 4⁰, it would add around 3⁰ at 1750 RPM; probably not a linear function.

 

So far, doing my normal commute the mileage this tank is far better than usual.

 

This "tune" also allows for the CANbus feature, so if you get bigger injectors you can get them to fire a shorter pulse than stock at low PSI, and as boost builds let them fire a longer percentage of stock.

 

This is the easiest way to "tune" and see some real benefits using the Adrenaline, without much worry about being a tuning wizard.

 

EDIT: I'm in level 2, so CANbus fueling doesn't play a part in my tuning, just timing.

Edited March 19, 2021 by LorenS

[dripley]

If you are running a stock hx35 you will benefit from a boost elbow. The stock waste gate is going to open at near 20psi. The HX is good into the the low 30's. You will like the extra air. The boost fooler in the tuner just fools the ECM into not seeing the high pressure. Thats what will set a code. 

 

[LorenS]

Another benefit to the rather expensive Adrenaline is the number of gauges you can display. Things like IAT, fuel temp, timing, ECT, engine load, TPS position, and on and on. Plus the ability to data log, for diagnostic purposes.

[Threadzy]

If you don’t use the truck on a regular basis and it’s not your DD I could see it not being at the top of your list of things to get. But if you use it regularly especially for hauling and your planing on upgrading things eventually like injectors and a turbo. I would definitely put it at the top of my list. The truck in general will run so much better.  If it does only save you say 2 miles per gallon a 35 gallon tank that’s 70 more miles. Depending on fuel prices where you live that will add up. Fuel where I live is getting close to $4 a gallon. Will probably hit $5+ by summer thanks to the Senile and Chief. It will pay itself off. Commanding fuel and how much at the proper time makes a big difference. 

[Mopar1973Man]

57 minutes ago, Threadzy said:

Fuel where I live is getting close to $4 a gallon. Will probably hit $5+ by summer thanks to the Senile and Chief.

 

Already $3.689 for diesel here. I will be over $4 by start of summer. I'll most likely drop back my hyper-mile days again and crank up to 27 MPG. I still remember how to do it. I'm in good setup now and have way better chance of beating my old record. Better low end final ratio. Less rotational mass and just cut the speed back to 55 as MAX. Level 2 is the best for this being all the add fuel is cut back to stock levels. Still have the timing.

Edited March 19, 2021 by Mopar1973Man

[Threadzy]

17 minutes ago, Mopar1973Man said:

 

Already $3.689 for diesel here. I will be over $4 by start of summer. I'll most likely drop back my hyper-mile days again and crank up to 27 MPG. I still remember how to do it. I'm in good setup now and have way better chance of beating my old record. Better low end final ratio. Less rotational mass and just cut the speed back to 55 as MAX. Level 2 is the best for this being all the add fuel is cut back to stock levels. Still have the timing.

I will probably drop my tire size back down to a 265 when these are done. Probably next fall. 

[Mopar1973Man]

245/75 R16 will increase you to 3.69:1 final ratio.

 

265/75 R16 will bring you to stock 3.55:1 to the ground.

 

285/75 R16 will decrease 3.42:1 to the ground. (not optimal)

 

Above 285's not suggest without gear change in the axles.

[wil440]

just done the maths and I just paid £1.29 a litre this works out at $6.77 for your gallon or $8.05 for our gallon